


Amethyst and Emerald Eyes

by swiftishere



Series: MSA One-Shots [34]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Cave Spirit Lewis, Character Death, Gen, Role Swap, fucking forgot the whole ass summary. nice going me, in which nobody is very nice to arthur, non-evil Lewis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29834157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftishere/pseuds/swiftishere
Summary: Arthur's dragged along by his friends to a strange, glowing purple cave. He hates it, but of course he'll follow them! What if someone gets hurt?Lewis realizes one of his new guests is in alotmore danger than he initially thought.
Relationships: ??? & Arthur (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur & Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA One-Shots [34]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1440190
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38





	Amethyst and Emerald Eyes

Arthur's used to his friends dragging him to creepy places. Doesn't mean he likes it, but he's learned how to handle it. 

The cave Vivi's found this time is... something else, though. There's no evidence of previous human occupation – it's untouched, and yet something with it is _wrong_. Everything is stained purple, even the mist drifting from the entrance, and the rock face towers above them like a yawning mouth. It feels dangerous, like something is warning them to leave. 

None of the others notice it. Vivi bounces out excitedly, Mystery close at her heels. Kay strolls up to the entrance unfazed, his flashlight clicking idly on and off. 

“What are you waiting for?” he calls after a moment, not even turning around. 

“I- I don’t… there’s s-s-something… _wrong_ with this place.” 

“Oh, don’t start _that_ again. Do you want to be here, or not?” He starts walking again. 

Arthur can’t just leave them _alone_ , what if someone gets _hurt?_ But… his skin _itches_ as he drags himself closer to the cave, scars aching and growing tense. He doesn’t want to be here, he wants to _leave–_

–but everyone else is going inside, and he can’t leave without them. 

He forces himself to keep moving. 

* * *

Lewis is pulled from his slumber by the feeling of an unfamiliar presence in the cave. The gemstones around him flare to life as he wakes, their glow turning the rock above him to pink-tinted stars. 

He sighs, and rises through the cavern, drifting towards the intruders. He just has to get them to leave, and then he can go back to sleep. 

On the lower path are two – people? A twenty-something girl and her dog, it seems at first glance, but… the dog burns with raw power when he gets close, and the girl is blue and cold, driving him back seemingly without noticing. He shivers and floats away, turning his attention to the other points of life he senses. 

There’s two on the upper path as well – young men, a little older than he was when… he shakes his head to dispel the sudden, uncomfortable familiarity. They’re both carrying flashlights. One’s tinged in shades of green, strolling ahead, perfectly calm, and the other, done in gold… Lewis can already feel the fear radiating off him, if it wasn’t obvious from the way he’s hunched in on himself with a white-knuckle grip on the flashlight. He’s almost stopped in the crossroads, the other walking off without him. 

“If you want to leave, hurry up so we can get this over with,” says the first one. His voice is as relaxed as the rest of him, but there’s a dangerous undercurrent to it. 

As soon as Lewis brushes near him, he can feel his thoughts. It takes a moment to process, and then he's sickened to his core. 

_Sucker has no idea what's coming,_ the mind whispers, _he's gonna walk right into it. Goddamn I can't wait, I'm finally gonna be rid of this leech. If only he'd just hurry up, you'd think he'd want to get this over with, just a little closer you scrawny bastard so I can grab you by that stupid hair and kick you into those rocks-_

He tears himself away from the thoughts in a panic. This visitor to his cave – he's planning a _murder_. He _has_ to _stop this._

First, he thinks to possess the would-be killer. To do what, he isn’t exactly sure – just _stop_ them, whatever comes after, he’ll figure out as he goes. So he gathers all his power, a swirling, glowing purple smoke, and reaches out. 

…only to find the murderer’s mind impenetrable. Like smooth glass against his nonexistent hand, any attempt he makes to get through into this person’s head falls against an unmoving barrier. He's too strong - _dammit_ , why did _this_ have to be the person he finally fails against? Why _now?_

The gold one approaches closer behind them, finally finding his footing, and prompting a renewed urgency in Lewis. 

“’s fucking fr-freezing in here,” he comments, oblivious to the looming danger. 

“Really? I’m not cold at all,” Green responds with hardly a glance over his shoulder. 

_“Of course you’re not cold,”_ Lewis hisses, _“you’re surrounded by a fire spirit.”_

Gold jumps, attention snapping to the vague area Lewis is currently occupying. “Th- d-did you hear that?” 

Did he.. _. hear him? How?_

He’s a _medium_ , Lewis realizes suddenly, the fact clicking into place. No _wonder_ he’s afraid – he knows they’re not alone here. Green, clearly, has no such ability and no such concerns, and has defaulted to flat-out _ignoring_ his companion as he presses on. 

He _ought_ to pay more attention. Frustration slips in alongside worry as he thinks about it further. He wanders into dangerous, likely-haunted places, disregards the person who might actually _warn him_ about the danger, and then has the- the _audacity_ to call _him_ a leech? 

Gold is approaching panic now, with the wide-eyed stare of a trapped animal, but he keeps following Green anyway. He wants nothing more than to help him, to at least _stop_ what’s coming, most of all he _doesn’t want to watch this-_

-an idea forms as he drifts, aimless and despondent, after the two visitors. He may not have been able to reach Green, but maybe there’s something else he can do. But- what if something goes wrong- 

But then he realizes they’ve reached the end of the road. The cliff opens out before them. It’s now or never. 

As he was expecting, it’s almost unnervingly easy to slip into Gold’s mind. All he has to do is visualize himself reaching down and taking his hand, and any defenses he has cave instantly and allow him inside. For a moment, Gold locks up, registering something _wrong_ in his head – and then Lewis takes over and the body relaxes again.

_I'm sorry about the intrusion, but I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help,_ he whispers to Gold, feeling his panic build with his sudden loss of control. 

All he gets in return is a frantic _no no no please don’t please don’t hurt me_ , and he realizes he won’t be able to reassure him, not like this. He's already too afraid of him. 

“Hey, c’mere,” says Green, lifting his head from where he’s looking over the cavern. “You can see Vi from here.” 

They draw closer to Green, eventually settling behind him with not a foot between them. Lewis debates, for a moment, what to do; he’s still not quite sure, when he speaks. 

“I know what you’re going to do.” 

A slight, almost imperceptible jerky tilt of the head, Green just barely resisting snapping it around to stare at him. He hears his mouth open with a soft click, but it’s another beat before he speaks. “…what?” 

He hadn’t realized how _strange_ talking through a mouth would be, and the unfamiliarity adds to his nerves. “I… I can’t allow it.” 

Green _scoffs_ at that, standing up again and turning around to face them, speaking as he does. “And what are you going to do about it? Go run and cry to Vivi, so you can make yourself look even worse for her? You're certainly not going to do anything by _yourself_. I mean-" A light, sarcastic laugh. "You probably don't even _want_ to. So why not just save us both the trouble?"

And then he shifts his weight, and it’s barely the beginning of a movement but it’s still all too easy for Lewis to predict what comes next. 

Gold is stronger than he was expecting, and Green isn’t ready for the blow. And overconfidence had him standing too close to the edge, and the single step he takes back in response is one step too many. All of a sudden, he’s falling. 

Lewis is all too familiar with this drop, but he still nearly forgets what’s coming next. The _crunch_ of bone and muscle tearing apart echoes through the cave, followed by a _scream_ – coming not from the dead man, he realizes, but someone else. The other person he’d seen on the lower path. 

He takes a couple steps back from the ledge – away from that gruesome sight. He’s starting to regret this decision, to second-guess himself – but the only alternative he can see is _Gold_ dying, and he… he can still feel Gold, innocent and frightened, alongside him in this mind. There’s no way Green deserves to live over _him_. Not someone who’d murder – from the looks of things, someone who considered him a _friend_. 

_I can go now._ He tries to reach out to the soul. _I'm sorry again about the intrusion, I just couldn't watch him kill you._

The response he gets makes him flinch - a wave of terror that would have been a _wail_ if they were physical, wordless and honest panic. Does he _still_ not understand? 

A sound from behind makes him spin around. It’s coupled with a flash of _power_ that makes him take a step back. He recognizes the dog, but… it’s not a dog anymore. It’s _massive_ , and the way it’s standing is obviously hostile. 

He holds up his hands. “Hold on, I’m not- I’m trying to help-“ 

_“Silence, monster!”_ it snarls, stepping forward. “Not one more word! I already know what you are.” 

“Wait-“ 

The distance between them is closed in an instant. A weight slams down on his – Gold’s – chest, and he feels something snap under the force, closely followed by sharp stabs when claws bite into flesh. The sensation is _familiar_ , and he’s not sure if it’s that or the sheer force that keeps him from breathing. 

Teeth bite into the arm he’d first reached through, and he isn’t sure if it’s him or Gold that’s screaming. 

All at once he’s yanked out of the body, and his spectral form flickers, mingling with the blood in the air. He reins in his fire before it can do any damage, staring in horror at the scene before him. This – he didn’t want _this – why –_ who are these people? 

A shout echoes from behind the monster, echoing and unintelligible, and it starts and looks back. Suddenly it’s gone, replaced with the small dog from before. 

Lewis is torn between running and staying – his instincts are screaming at him to get away from that thing – but Gold’s rapidly losing blood, and if _he_ dies here too, it’ll be _his fault,_ and… and then he’s just caused _two_ deaths. 

Then the blue girl from before appears. The dog doesn’t say anything, just stays close and watches silently. It takes her a moment to process – and then she’s moving, pulling off a scarf and working to bandage the wound. 

He isn’t sure even _that_ will be enough. He can feel Gold’s life fading, and his bright colors are dimming to near-grey. 

He didn’t want _this_. He spares another glance to the not-dog, who seems too preoccupied with reassuring Blue to notice him now – reassuring _her_ and not the person he’s very nearly killed. Blue, at least, doesn’t seem to know what happened. She’s reacting as if some outside force has caused all of this. 

Then they’re leaving the cave, and he’s expecting to be left drifting there. But something pulls him along after them, staying just a few feet from Gold. 

He stays tethered to that dimming golden light as they speed away from his decades-long home in the cave. 


End file.
